Suction nozzle for use in vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner, which can clean a surface to be cleaned having a corner portion where a horizontal surface and a vertical surface meet, such as a staircase, is disclosed. The suction nozzle includes a nozzle body having an air inlet formed in a bottom surface thereof to draw in air, and a brush unit having a liftable brush liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body in front of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with a surface to be cleaned to brush away dirt or dust therefrom.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0101099, filed on Oct. 8, 2007, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner, which can clean a surface to be cleaned having a corner portion where a horizontal surface and a vertical surface meet, such as a staircase, etc.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a vacuum cleaner generates a suction force by using a suction motor, so that it draws in dirt or dust from a surface to be cleaned, thereby cleaning the surface to be cleaned. Such a vacuum cleaner has a suction nozzle, which draws in the dust or dirt from the surface to be cleaned when it moves in contact with the surface to be cleaned. The suction nozzle is usually provided with an air inlet formed in a bottom surface of a nozzle body to draw in the dust or dirt adhered to the surface to be cleaned, and a fixed brush or a rotatable drum brush disposed in the vicinity of the air inlet to brush away the dust or dirt adhered to the surface to be cleaned.

However, the suction nozzle as described above is disadvantageous in that although it is effective in brushing away dust or dirt adhered to a surface to be cleaned, such as a floor, a carpet, etc., it is difficult in removing dust or dirt adhered to a surface to be cleaned having a corner portion, such as a staircase, etc.

To address the problem, besides the suction nozzle as described above, the conventional vacuum cleaner is provided with a suction nozzle for staircase, which is selectively mounted to a hose or an extended tube, as an accessory to clean only the surface to be cleaned, such as the staircase.

As examples of the suction nozzle for staircase, there are known a plate-bottom surface type suction nozzle and a shutter function type suction nozzle.

The plate-bottom surface type suction nozzle is disadvantageous in that although it can cleans a vertical surface and a horizontal surface of the staircase, it cannot draw in air or exert a suction force in the vicinity of the corner portion of the staircase, thereby causing the corner portion not to clean.

Also, the shutter function type suction nozzle is provided with a suction shutter, which is rotatable in an angle of 90° by a lever. Thus, the shutter function type suction nozzle can clean the surface to be cleaned by changing an air-suction angle of the suction shutter through the lever according to a change in shape of the surface to be cleaned. However, in this case, there is difficulty in that to change the air-suction angle, the suction shutter should be manually rotated by the lever whenever the shape of the surface to be cleaned is changed within the angle of 90°. In addition, the problem that when the corner portion is cleaned, the nozzle can not draw in the air or exert the suction force, thereby causing the corner portion not to clean, is not addressed, but still remained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present disclosure is to address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner capable of automatically adjusting an air-suction angle according to an operation angle caused by a change in shape of a surface to be cleaned thus to easily clean dust or dirt from the surface to be cleaned having a horizontal surface, a vertical surface and a corner portion where the horizontal surface and the vertical surface meet, such as a staircase, the corner of a room, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner includes a nozzle body having an air inlet formed in a bottom surface thereof to draw in air, and a brush unit having a liftable brush liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body in front of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with a surface to be cleaned to brush away dirt or dust therefrom.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the air inlet is formed, so that when the nozzle body is in a horizontal surface-cleaning position, a front part thereof is located higher than a rear part thereof from the surface to be cleaned.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the liftable brush includes a brush body having a brush attached on a lower part thereof, a guide member to accommodate the brush body and to guide a lifting and lowering movement of the brush body, and an elastic member to elastically urge the brush body in a direction where the brush comes in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned.

The brush unit may further include a fixed brush fixedly disposed on the nozzle body in the rear of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned to bush away dust or dirt therefrom. In this case, preferably, but not necessarily, the fixed brush includes a rubber blade. At this time, preferably, but not necessarily, the rubber blade has a plurality of protrusions formed on a front surface thereof.

In addition, the suction nozzle may further includes a roller unit having at least one roller rotatably disposed on the nozzle body to come in rolling contact with the surface to be cleaned. In this case, preferably, but not necessarily, the roller is disposed, so that a center thereof is higher than fixing centers of the liftable brush and the fixed brush. Accordingly, in cleaning, when the nozzle body moves back and forth while pivoting or rotating on a center axis of the roller, fixing points of the liftable brush and the fixed brush are located as downward as possible, that is, closely on the side of the surface to be cleaned, thereby preventing the liftable brush and the fixed brush from moving away from the surface to be cleaned to weaken a suction force in cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view exemplifying a suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the suction nozzle exemplified in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the suction nozzle taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view exemplifying a fixed brush of a brush unit of the suction nozzle exemplified in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are side elevations exemplifying a state where the suction nozzle exemplified in FIG. 1 is used; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view exemplifying a vacuum cleaner to which the suction nozzle exemplified in FIG. 1 is applied.

Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view exemplifying an example of a vacuum cleaner 100 to which a suction nozzle 10 for use in a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure capable of cleaning a surface to be cleaned having a corner portion, such as a staircase or the corner of a room, is applied.

Referring to FIG. 6, the vacuum cleaner 100 includes a suction nozzle 10 to draw in air laid with dust or dirt, an extended tube part 82 to communicate the suction nozzle 10 and a cleaner body 130 to each other. The cleaner body 130 is divided into a dust separating chamber 135 and a motor chamber 131.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a side elevation exemplifying the suction nozzle 10 for use in the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the suction nozzle 10 exemplifying a state where it is laid down on the surface to be cleaned to expose a bottom surface 14 of the nozzle body 12 for the purpose of illustration, and FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the suction nozzle 10 exemplifying a horizontal surface-cleaning position where it is leaned in an angle of approximately 45°.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the suction nozzle 10 for use in the vacuum cleaner the according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a nozzle body 12, a brush unit 30, and a roller unit 50.

The nozzle body 12 at the inside thereof has an air passage (not illustrated) through which the air laden with the dust or dirt drawn in through an air inlet 16 flows, and at the rear thereof has a nozzle connector 80 to join with the extended tube part 82 of the vacuum cleaner 100.

The air inlet 16 is elongately formed in the bottom surface 14 of the nozzle body 12. As illustrated in FIG. 3, to easily draw in the dust or dirt from the front of the nozzle body 12, preferably, but not necessarily, the air inlet 16 is formed, so that when the nozzle body 12 is in the horizontal surface-cleaning position, a front part 16 a thereof is located higher than a rear part 16 b thereof from the surface to be cleaned. Accordingly, in cleaning, the air laden with the dust or dirt is drawn in through the air inlet 16 and flows into the cleaner body 130 through the nozzle connector 80 and the extended tube part 82.

The brush unit 30, which brushes away the dust or dirt adhered to the surface to be cleaned, includes a liftable brush 32 and a fixed brush 38.

The liftable brush 32 is liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body 12 in front of the air inlet 16. For this, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the liftable brush 32 is provided with a brush body 33, a guide member 34, and an elastic member 35. The brush body 33 has a brush 36 attached on a lower part thereof. The brush 36 comes in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom. The guide member 34 is made up of a U-shaped plate member formed in the nozzle body 12, and accommodates the brush body 33 to guide a lifting and lowering movement of the brush body 33. The elastic member 35 is made up of a predetermined number of compression springs disposed between an upper surface of the brush body 33 and a spring mount 37 of the nozzle body 12, and elastically urges the brush body 33 downward, so that a center of the brush body 33 is located on a first fixing point P1. Here, the first fixing point P1 is located away by a first distance d1 from a line, which is vertically extended from a center axis 56 of first and second rollers 52 and 54 to be described later.

Accordingly, as an operation angle of the nozzle body 12 is changed in a direction of arrow A of FIG. 2 by a user, the brush 36 of the brush body 33 comes in contact with the surface to be cleaned, so that it is pushed upward. Thus, the brush body 33 is lifted upward along the guide member 34 against an elastic force of the elastic member 35, so that a height of the brush 36 is automatically adjusted. To the contrary, as the operation angle of the nozzle body 12 is changed in a direction of arrow B of FIG. 2 by the user, the brush 36 of the brush body 33 moves away from the surface to be cleaned. Thus, the brush body 33 is lowered downward along the guide member 34 by the elastic force of the elastic member 35, so that the height of the brush 36 is automatically adjusted. Accordingly, the front part 16 a of the air inlet 16 is maintained in a state where it is closed up by the liftable brush 32, thereby allowing a suction force of the suction nozzle 10 to be uniformly maintained without being decreased.

The fixed brush 38 is fixedly disposed on a second fixing point P2 of the nozzle body 12 apart by a second distance d2 from the center axis 56 of the first and the second rollers 52 and 54. The second distance d2 is shorter than the first distance d1. The fixed brush 38 comes in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom. Preferably, but not necessarily, the fixed brush 38 is made up of a rubber brush. At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the rubber brush may have a plurality of conical protrusions 39 formed on a front surface thereof, so that in carpet cleaning, it can scrape off dust or dirt from wools of a carpet.

Hereinafter, the reason why the liftable brush 32 is liftably and lowerably disposed and the fixed brush 38 is fixed disposed will be described in detail.

As described above, the liftable brush 32 is liftably and lowerably disposed on the first fixing point P1, which is located away by the first distance d1 from the center axis 56 of first and second rollers 52 and 54, and the fixed brush 38 is fixedly disposed on the second fixing point P2, which is apart by the second distance d2 shorter than the first distance d1 from the center axis 56 of first and second rollers 52 and 54.

Accordingly, in cleaning, when the nozzle body 12 is moved back and forward while pivoting or rotating on the center axis 56 of the first and the second rollers 52 and 54, the front part 16 a of the air inlet 16 is moved up and down in a range larger than that of the rear part 16 b. In addition, to easily draw in the dust or dirt from the front of the nozzle body, the air inlet 16 is formed, so that when the nozzle body 12 is in the horizontal surface-cleaning position, the front part 16 a is higher than the rear part 16 b from the surface to be cleaned.

Thus, in case that as the front part 16 a of the air inlet 16 is lifted, the liftable brush 32 is not lowered as distance as the front part 16 a of the air inlet 16 is lifted, the front part 16 a of the air inlet 16 is opened, so that the suction force of the suction nozzle 10 is decreased and thereby an suction efficiency of the suction nozzle 10 is deteriorated. However, since the liftable brush 32 is lifted and lowered to automatically adjust a height thereof according to the present disclosure, the problem as described above is prevented. At this time, since the rear part 16 b of the air inlet 16 is moved up and down in relatively small range, the problem that the rear part 16 b of the air inlet 16 is opened does not occur even though the fixed brush 38 is fixedly disposed.

The roller unit 50 includes first and second rollers 52 and 54, which are rotatably disposed on the nozzle body 12 at both sides of the air inlet 16. When the nozzle body 12 is moved along the surface to be cleaned, the first and the second rollers 52 and 54 come in rolling contact with the surface to be cleaned, so that the nozzle body 12 can smoothly move along the surface to be cleaned.

At this time, preferably, but not necessarily, the first and the second rollers 52 and 54 are disposed, so that the center axis 56 is higher than the first and the second fixing points P1 and P2 of the liftable brush 32 and the fixed brush 38. The reason is to position the first and the second fixing points P1 and P2 of the liftable brush 32 and the fixed brush 38 as downward as possible, that is, closely on the side of the surface to be cleaned, thereby to prevent the liftable brush 32 and the fixed brush 38 from moving apart from the surface to be cleaned to decrease the suction force in cleaning.

An operation of the suction nozzle 10 for use in the vacuum cleaner of the present disclosure constructed as described above will now be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 through 6.

First, to clean dust or dirt adhered to a surface to be cleaned, particularly, a staircase, the user contacts the brush unit 30 of the nozzle body 12 with the staircase, and at the same time, actuates the vacuum cleaner 100 while moving the nozzle body 12 back and forward and left and right.

Then, a vacuum motor 120 of the cleaner body 130 is operated to generate a suction force. According to this, external air along with dust or dirt is drawn into the air passage of the nozzle body 12 through the air inlet 16 of the nozzle body 12, and then flows into the cleaner body 130 through the extended tube part 82. The air flowing into the cleaner body 130 removes the dust or dirt therefrom in the dust collecting chamber 135, and discharges to the outside from the cleaner body 130.

At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 2, if for example, a horizontal surface of the staircase is cleaned, the nozzle body 12 is moved back and forth while pivoting or rotating on the center axis 56 of the first and the second rollers 52 and 54 in the direction of arrows A and B, respectively. In this case, as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the liftable brush 32 comes in contact with the horizontal surface thus to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom while automatically adjusting a height thereof, and the fixed brush 38 comes in contact with the horizontal surface in a fixed state thus to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom.

To the contrary, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, if a corner portion of the staircase is cleaned, the nozzle body 12 is moved left and right (into and out of the page, respectively) while a lower end of a front surface 12 a comes in contact with a vertical surface of the staircase and the fixed brush 38 comes in contact with the horizontal surface, so that the lower end of the front surface 12 a and the fixed brush 38 forms a suction space therebetween. At this time, the liftable brush 32 is projected from the bottom surface 14 of the nozzle body 12 by the elastic member 35, and is located a little apart from the corner portion of the staircase.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, if the vertical surface of the staircase is cleaned, the nozzle body 12 is moved up and down in a state where at an upper side thereof, the fixed brush 38 comes in contact with the vertical surface and at a lower side thereof, the liftable brush 32 comes in contact with the vertical surface, by an operation of the user through the extended tube part 82. At this time, the liftable brush 32 comes in contact with the vertical surface thus to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom while automatically adjusting the height thereof, and the fixed brush 38 comes in contact with the vertical surface in the fixed state thus to brush away the dust or dirt therefrom.

As described above, since the suction nozzle 10 for use in the vacuum cleaner according to the present disclosure is provided with the liftable brush 32 liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body 12 in front of the air inlet 16 and the fixed brush 38 fixedly disposed on the nozzle body 12, it can automatically adjust an air-suction angle, which draws in the air laden with the dust or dirt from the surface to be cleaned, according the operation angle thereof. As a result, even though the operation angle is changed according to a change in shape of the surface to be cleaned, the suction nozzle 10 can maintain a uniform suction force without opening the front part 16 a and/or the rear part 16 b of the air inlet 16.

As apparent from the foregoing description, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the suction nozzle for use in the vacuum cleaner is provided with the liftable brush liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body in front of the air inlet, so that the height thereof can be automatically adjusted according the operation angle of the suction nozzle, thereby allowing the suction nozzle to adjust the air-suction angle. Accordingly, the suction nozzle according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure does not manually, but automatically adjusts the air-suction angle according to the change in shape of the surface to be cleaned, thereby allowing the dust or dirt to easily be cleaned from the surface to be cleaned having the vertical surface, the horizontal surface and the corner portion where the vertical surface and the horizontal surface meet, such as the staircase, the corner of the room, etc.

Further, the suction nozzle for use in the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is provided the fixed brush fixedly disposed on the nozzle body in the rear of the air inlet and having the plurality of protrusions formed on the front surface thereof. Accordingly, the suction nozzle according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can easily clean the dust or dirt from the surface to be cleaned, such as the carpet, as well as the staircase.

Although representative exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has been shown and described in order to exemplify the principle of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiment. It will be understood that various modifications and changes can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it shall be considered that such modifications, changes and equivalents thereof are all included within the scope of the present disclosure. 

1. A suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a nozzle body having an air inlet formed in a bottom surface thereof to draw in air; and a brush unit having a liftable brush liftably and lowerably disposed in the nozzle body in front of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with a surface to be cleaned to brush away dirt or dust therefrom.
 2. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air inlet is formed, so that when the nozzle body is in a horizontal surface-cleaning position, a front part thereof is located higher than a rear part thereof from the surface to be cleaned.
 3. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liftable brush comprises: a brush body having a brush attached on a lower part thereof; a guide member to accommodate the brush body and to guide a lifting and lowering movement of the brush body; and an elastic member to elastically urge the brush body in a direction where the brush comes in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned.
 4. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the brush unit further comprises a fixed brush fixedly disposed on the nozzle body in the rear of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned to bush away dust or dirt therefrom.
 5. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fixed brush comprises a rubber blade.
 6. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rubber blade has a plurality of protrusions formed on a front surface thereof.
 7. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a roller unit having at least one roller rotatably disposed on the nozzle body to come in rolling contact with the surface to be cleaned.
 8. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one roller is disposed, so that a center thereof is higher than fixing centers of the liftable brush and the fixed brush.
 9. A suction nozzle for use in a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a nozzle body having an air inlet formed in a bottom surface thereof to draw in air; a liftable brush having a brush and an elastic member, the elastic member elastically urging the brush in a direction where the brush comes in surface contact with a surface to be cleaned, the liftable brush being disposed in the nozzle body in front of the air inlet; a fixed brush fixedly disposed on the nozzle body in the rear of the air inlet and coming in surface contact with the surface to be cleaned to bush away dust or dirt therefrom.
 10. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 9, wherein the air inlet is formed, so that when the nozzle body is in a horizontal surface-cleaning position, a front part thereof is located higher than a rear part thereof from the surface to be cleaned.
 11. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 9, wherein the liftable brush further comprises: a brush body having the brush attached on a lower part thereof; and a guide member to accommodate the brush body and to guide a lifting and lowering movement of the brush body.
 12. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 9, wherein the fixed brush comprises a rubber blade.
 13. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the rubber blade has a plurality of protrusions formed on a front surface thereof.
 14. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a roller unit having at least one roller rotatably disposed on the nozzle body to come in rolling contact with the surface to be cleaned.
 15. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the at least one roller is disposed, so that a center thereof is higher than fixing centers of the liftable brush and the fixed brush.
 16. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 15, wherein the at least one roller is disposed, so that a center thereof is closer to a fixing center of the liftable brush than to the fixing center of the fixed brush.
 17. The suction nozzle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the at least one roller is disposed, so that a center thereof is closer to a fixing center of the liftable brush than to the fixing center of the fixed brush. 